What Once Was Lost
by LockJohn
Summary: Sherlock and John live a happy life with their beautiful six-month old daughter, Ella. When Ella is put into the wrong hands and disappears, Sherlock and John nearly give up hope. After ten years, they may have found the answer to their prayers. Could it be their little girl? Warning: Parts of the story are somewhat depressing. There is a death in this story as well.


**Disclaimer: Sherlock and John are married and have a child. This is also my first ever fan fiction. Please be nice with your comments. Positive feedback is appreciated! Thank you and enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

"I can't believe how big she's getting", said John who watched his daughter Ella sleeping peacefully in her pram with a pacifier in her mouth. She was six months old. She was a very happy baby who inherited much of her fathers' traits, even though she was born via surrogate. John and Sherlock had taken paternity tests after Ella was born to see which one of them was biologically her father, thinking it could only be one. Miraculously, they found out that both of their sperms took, therefore making them both her biological father. Ella had Sherlock's dark hair and his blue-grey eyes while she had John's smile and gentle personality.

John was sitting next to Sherlock who was reading the newspaper.

"Mm", muttered Sherlock.

"I mean, I remember the day we brought her home from the hospital. I remember how she looked, smelled, I even remember the clothes she was wearing...".

"Very nice John", said Sherlock uninterested.

"What's wrong with you, Sherlock? Is talking about your daughter that boring to you?" asked John who was a bit annoyed at him.

"I'm simply doing an experiment", replied Sherlock. John grabbed the newspaper out of Sherlock's hands to see what was so important.

"A bloody Sudoku puzzle...really Sherlock? I'm glad to see where your priorities are at", said John.

"Oh shut up...mummy," said Sherlock.

John turned and glared at Sherlock. "You know I don't like it when you call me that", he said.

"Call you what?"

"You know what".

"Well you definitely suit the role. Your strict, you have fits just about every day, your emotional and cry all the time-"

"I do NOT cry all the time!" said John who was rather annoyed at this point.

"Oh please. Who cried watching Titanic the other night? Who cried when Ella laughed for the first time?Who cried when my experimental mouse died? Who-"

"ENOUGH SHERLOCK! I get it. I'm a wee bit over emotional", yelled John.

"Just a wee bit?" asked Sherlock with a smile.

John said nothing but looked at Sherlock and gave him a half smile. Shortly after a small noise came from the pram. Ella was waking up.

"Hello darling! Did you have a good nap?" asked John as he rubbed Ella's small chest.

Ella rubbed her eyes and then started blabbering like all six month old babies do.

"Really? Is that so?" said John in a high pitched voice.

Ella continued blabbering and then kicked her legs wildly.

"That's quite a story, darling. Well then, I-"

"Oh for God sakes John, listen to yourself!" interrupted Sherlock.

"Oh shut up!" snapped John. He looked down into the pram and whispered to his daughter, "Daddy's a little grumpy today, but we won't let him spoil our fun will we? No we won't. Oh no we won't!" said John who was now tickling Ella.

Sherlock just shook his head. John took Ella out of the pram and held her so she was between him and Sherlock. She stared at Sherlock and then decided to grab at his hair.

"No no love, not daddy's hair", said Sherlock as he gently pushed Ella's hands away. She tried to go at his hair again but Sherlock inched himself away from her. She started to cry.

"You've done it now", said John as he proceeded to comfort Ella.

"Done what? I haven't done ANYTHING! All I've been doing is reading my paper!"

"And ignoring your daughter", added John. Sherlock rolled his eyes, put down the paper and took Ella from John's arms. She immediately stopped crying and rested her head on his shoulder and started sucking her thumb.

"I don't know what it is about you that calms her down. She's probably the only person in the world that can feel a sense of ease in your presence", said John.

"Surely she's not the ONLY person", said Sherlock, looking at John with a smile. John smiled back.

"Alright, the only other person besides me", added John. Sherlock gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Alright then, shall we go home? I think I need a little rest myself", said Sherlock.

John yawned as well. "I'll join you", he said with that cheeky smile of his that Sherlock always loved.

**Chapter 2**

Back at 221B Baker Street, Ella was in her crib in the other room sleeping as Sherlock and John took a nap together. About an hour later, Sherlock awoke and noticed he was tied up in John's arms like a snake wrapped around its prey. Sherlock couldn't help but stare at John as he slept.

"Could you please not do that", uttered John quietly.

Sherlock looked away quickly. "Do what?" He said.

"Stare at me while I'm trying to sleep", replied John.

"But I love the way you look when your asleep", said Sherlock. "If anything it's better than when you're awake. No nagging or crying".

"Oh sod of", said John as he gently pushed Sherlock away. Sherlock couldn't help but chuckle and kiss John on the head.

"Right then, should we go check on Ella? She probably needs changing as well as a bottle", said John as he got up and headed towards Ella's room. Sherlock had a long stretch and than proceeded to follow John.

"Blimey, I think she's filled her nappy", said John as he walked into the room and winced as he got closer to the crib. Sherlock came in seconds later. "Good God that's foul!" he said, mimicking John's reaction.

"How could someone so adorable smell so bad?" said John as he bent to pick up Ella. She started flailing her arms about. "Christ Ella, your going to make daddy faint!"

"Alright then, I'm going to go make some tea", said Sherlock as he turned to make his way for the kitchen.

"Just you hold on a minute!" said John firmly. "If I can recall, it's your turn to change her".

"No it's not", replied Sherlock quickly as he kept walking.

"Yes. Yes it is. I did it before we left for the park", said John who now had to raise his voice as Sherlock was in the kitchen fiddling with the kettle. Sherlock obviously knew it was his turn but was trying his best to avoid it. John walked into the kitchen with Ella.

"I know what your doing Sherlock and it's not going to work. Now here, take your daughter and go clean her up!".

"Fine. You make the tea then", said Sherlock as he took Ella and headed back to the bedroom.

"Alright Ella, let's make this quick", said Sherlock as he laid Ella down on the changing table and took off her little blue jeans. As he started to unfastened the nappy Ella rolled onto her side. Sherlock tried to re-position her but she just did it again, this time kicking her legs.

"Ugh! You've got to keep still darling or else daddy will never get this done". Sherlock was starting to get annoyed at this point. He loved Ella to pieces but hated nappy changing. John was always better at it. He could change her in matter of minutes with no problem, whereas Sherlock seemed to flinch at every possible moment.

Finally, Ella was laying still on her back, so Sherlock decided to be quick, or so he thought. "OH! BLOODY HELL!" yelled Sherlock as he undid the nappy. He backed away from Ella and covered his nose with his arm. Ella took this opportunity to laugh as well as John, who was well aware of Sherlock's suffering and knew he had to deal with it himself. Sherlock took a deep breath (bad idea in this case) and as quick as he could, took off the nappy and threw it away. He wiped and creamed Ella as best as he could, then put on a new nappy. As he was putting her jeans back on he said to her, "Make sure it's John's turn the next time you decide to defecate like that".

"I heard that!" yelled John as he went downstairs to take out the garbage.

"There we are. Much better! At least now daddy can breathe again", said Sherlock as he put away the wipes and diaper cream.

"Da...da", came a little voice.

Sherlock froze. He quickly got up and hovered over his daughter. "What did you just say?", he asked.

"Da..da...dadadadaaaaa", she murmured again loudly.

"Oh my God. Oh my God! John! John get in here now!", yelled Sherlock.

"What is it now, Sherlock?", John asked as he came up the stairs and into the room. "Come here", said Sherlock as he pulled him over to the changing table. "Alright darling, say what you said minute ago".

"Say wha-Did she speak?!" asked John was now hovering over Ella with Sherlock beside him.

"What did she say?" John asked.

"You'll see in a second. Come on Ella, say it again!"

Ella smiled at both men and kicked her legs with excitement.

"Come on darling! You said it two minutes ago. I don't understand?", said Sherlock puzzled.

"She's under pressure now, Sherlock", said John.

Sherlock was getting desperate at this point, then he had an idea. "Ella, tell daddy what you told me".

Nothing.

"Alright then, well if she's not going to say the word that you won't tell me, I'm going to continue cleaning up", said John as he started walking out of the room.

Just then, Ella spoke again. "Dada", she said. John stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at Sherlock, then his daughter. He then slowly walked back towards them.

"Did she say-did she say-", asked John, unable to finish the question as tears started streaming down his face.

"Yes she did", replied Sherlock as he went to hug John. John never noticed the small tears that had formed in Sherlock's eyes, which were of course tears of happiness. Sherlock wiped them away as quick as he could so John wouldn't notice.

"She spoke. Our little girl spoke...at six months old", said John as he wiped away the tears from his face and looked at Sherlock who said nothing but smiled at him.

"What? Not going to make fun of me for crying?" John asked.

"Not this time", replied Sherlock quietly.

"Dada dadaaa", went Ella.

"My goodness darling! Your so clever! Good girl", said John as he went to pick her up and kiss her.

"I guess we're going to have to figured out who 'dada' will be now. We can't both be "dada", said John.

"I agree. Well considering she said it to me first, I should be dada...or...daddy in the future. You can be papa...or...mummy", laughed Sherlock.

"Oh stop it!", said John. "Fine, you can be daddy and I'll be papa. Now if only I can get her to say papa". He held her so that she was facing him. "Can you do that Ella? Can you say papa? Pa...pa?"

"She's clever John but not that clever", said Sherlock. She won't-"

"Papa!" squealed Ella. John and Sherlock gasped.

"Very good darling!", said John excitedly. He turned to Sherlock who was quite taken back with surprise. "You underestimate your daughter's capabilities", added John.

Ella started fussing.

"Oh goodness, you need to eat don't you? Right then, papa will get you a bottle", said John as he took Ella toward the kitchen.

"Pa..pa", said Ella as she put her hand on John's mouth. John was smiling ear to ear at this point. "You catch on quick don't you?" he said to her. She looked at him and smiled. She was definitely daddy and papa's little girl.

Later that night, Sherlock and John went through their nightly routine together with Ella. They bathed her, read to her, and put her to bed. She fell asleep in minutes. Both men finally had time alone together.

"What a day today", said John yawning as he was getting into bed.

"Most definitely, but it was sure an exciting one!", replied Sherlock as he got into bed too. "I wonder if she'll catch on to other words as quickly as dada and papa. Perhaps I should experiment on-"

"You're not going to experiment on her, Sherlock" interrupted John. "Yes, she said her first two words today, which is exciting but still quite early for a six month old. It's not like she'll be reciting Shakespeare anytime soon".

Sherlock decided not to argue. He would just experiment on her while John was away and not tell him about it. He smiled at that thought.

"Alright, well goodnight...papa", said Sherlock as he planted a long hard kiss on John's lips. He trembled a bit.

"And goodnight to you, daddy", replied John smiling.

**Chapter 3**

The next day was a day neither Sherlock or John would ever forget. It started when Sherlock received a call from Lestrade asking for his help on a big case. Sherlock took it with no questions asked as he hadn't had a good case in a while and was in dire need of one. John wanted to come along too, but finding a babysitter was no easy task.

"Why don't you phone Molly?" asked Sherlock.

"She's working", John replied.

"Mrs. Hudson?"

"Out of town".

"Hmm...why don't we just bring her with us?" asked Sherlock.

"No, Sherlock. We're not bringing her to a crime scene".

"Oh John. She's going to know what a crime scene is sooner or later. Best to get her started early".

John sighed and looked down at Ella who was laying on the floor on a pile of blankets. "You want to go to a crime scene with daddy and I", he asked her rhetorically. Ella smiled and started waiving her hands and kicking her legs about.

"Looks like a yes to me", said Sherlock.

Sherlock and John arrived at the crime scene, which was an abandoned warehouse in east London. As they got out of the cab with Ella in her carrier clutching her favourite stuffed cat, Donavan, who was also on the case, came walking over.

"So Freak and Freakette decided to bring the little one along...to a crime scene. Excellent parenting", she said sarcastically.

"Why thank you, Donavan. A few more field trips like these and she'll be more advanced than you in no time", said Sherlock smiling. Donavan glared at him but said nothing.

"Boys! There you are. Follow me", said Lestrade as he waved them over.

"So what's happened?" asked John as him and Sherlock walked over.

"Before I answer that, why did you bring Ella? She shouldn't be here. Danielle! Could you come here for a minute?"

Sherlock and John turned their heads to a young, 5'4" girl with dark blonde hair who was walking towards them.

"Hello there! I'm Danielle Harrison, and you must be Sherlock Holmes", she said shaking his hand. "I've heard all about you. And you must be John Watson. I've read all of your blogs", she said shaking his hand. "And who is this little angel?" she asked, kneeling down to the baby.

"This is our daughter, Ella", answered John.

"Yours aaand...Sherlock's?" she asked.

"Yes", said John. "She was born via surrogate. We wanted her to be biologically ours rather than us adopting a baby", he said.

"So...your both...together...married?" she asked carefully.

"Yes we're married and yes we're gay and have a biological child", said Sherlock who was getting rather annoyed at getting off the topic of the case. "Could we please move on Lestrade?"

"Of course", said Lestrade quickly. "Danielle, would you be able to take the baby while Sherlock and Dr. Watson accompany me inside? I don't want the baby near the crime scene. Lots of toxic chemicals", he said.

"Of course! I love babies", she said.

John was initially hesitant at first considering he knew nothing about this woman, but decided to give Ella to her after some reassurance from Sherlock. "If she starts fussing there's a bottle in this bag", he said as he handed her the diaper bag.

"Not to worry, she'll be fine, won't you sweetheart?" said looking down at Ella who was smiling at her. John and Sherlock gave Ella a quick wave goodbye and headed inside after Lestrade.

Sherlock and John were in that warehouse for what seemed like forever, doing what they do best.

"I'm going to go get some air and see how Danielle is making out with the baby", said John.

"Don't be long! We're not near finished yet", said Sherlock as he was examining footprints.

As John walked outside, he started looking for Danielle but could not see her. He went over to one of the police officers patrolling the street.

"Excuse me, did you see a woman about 5'4 with a baby?" he asked him.

"No mate, sorry", the officer replied.

John then went over to Donavan who was talking with another officer. "Donavan, have you seen Danielle?" he asked.

"Nope", she said.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I said no! Why do you-"

"Because she has my baby!" yelled John.

Donavan noticed the worried look on John's face and decided to choose her words more carefully. "I'm sure she just took her somewhere to change her", she said. "She'll be back soon".

John highly doubted that and started wandering down the streets and around the building. "Danielle! Danielle!" he called out. He did this for about five minutes before returning back to the entrance of the abandoned building. He got down on his knees and put his head in his hands. "Oh my god..Oh my God...Oh my-"

"You okay?" asked Donavan as she put her hand on his shoulder. He stood up and she noticed the tears streaming down his face.

"She's gone. My baby is gone. I put her in the hands of a god damn stranger and now she's fucking GONE!" he yelled.

"Alright. Go tell Lestrade and Sherlock and I'll get patrols out right away", said Donavan as she pulled out her phone. She knew now that this was serious.

John ran as fast as he could into the building and up the stairs where Sherlock was still examining evidence.

"Ah there you are", said Sherlock. "I was wondering when you were going to-"

"She's gone Sherlock!", yelled John through his tears.

"What?"

"Ella...she's gone!"

"What do you mean-"

"Danielle took her! I just spent five minutes searching the area and they're nowhere to be found. Oh my god Sherlock. We handed out baby to a kidnapper".

Sherlock froze for a second, then started breathing deeply. He got up and went right over to Lestrade and pinned him to the wall. He was fuming at this point. "Who is she?! This Danielle. Who the hell is she? Where did she come from? Why did you ask her to mind Ella? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" he yelled.

"She's an intern from London Uni. Just started last week. Studying criminology and law. She begged to be on this case and desperately wanted you to be a part of it so she could meet you and-Oh my God", he said stopping himself.

"Kidnap my fucking baby it would seem!" replied Sherlock angrily.

"Sherlock!" yelled John.

"I swear I had no idea she would do this. She didn't seem the type", said Lestrade.

"For God sakes! Your the bloody head of police! You of all people should know that looks can be deceiving. You should have learnt more about her before bringing her here, or better yet asking her to look after MY baby!" said Sherlock who was now slamming him against the wall. John came behind Sherlock and pulled him off.

"Stop it! Stop it both of you!" yelled John. "Come on Sherlock. Donovan's got the patrol out searching the area. Let's go".

Sherlock started waking and then turned to Lestrade. "I'm done here... for good" he promised.

Sherlock and John spent hours searching for their daughter with all of London police doing the same thing, but to no avail.

Eventually, hours turned to into days...days turned into weeks...weeks turned into months. Signs were posted, newscasters were asking all of England for their help in finding Ella and Danielle, but there was nothing. It was as if they had vanished off the face of the earth. Sherlock and John were fighting almost every other day, blaming each other and themselves for what happened. As much as they fought, they stayed together, reminding each other that there was still hope and they needed to be strong for one another. Eventually, that hope faded away.

**Chapter 4**

Ten years later...

Sherlock and John were still living at 221B Baker Street. Mrs. Hudson was now in a nursing home battling dementia. She no longer remembered the little baby that lived with them so long ago, which deeply saddened Sherlock and John. It was as if it was another way to feel as though Ella never existed. Sherlock and John had stopped taking on cases after Ella disappeared and continued on with their lives as privately as possible. Once the news and papers stopped posting pictures and articles about Ella, it was as if everyone had forgotten about her and continued on with their daily lives. Most people thought she was dead anyways, or that Danielle may have taken her to another country, or sold her in one of those illegal baby trafficking cases. Regardless, Ella was now a memory.

It was October 3rd, which would have been Ella's tenth birthday. Every year since her disappearance, Sherlock and John would light a candle and place it next to their favourite picture of Ella as a baby. She is sitting up against the couch smiling and holding onto her favourite stuffed cat, the one she was clutching the day she disappeared. The picture sat on the fireplace mantle and Sherlock and John would sing Happy Birthday to it and then leave the candle until it decided to go out on its own.

After John lit the candle and sang Happy Birthday with Sherlock, he started tearing up. "Ten years old. My gosh, you're a young lady now", said John as he stroked the picture of baby Ella.

He rested his head on Sherlock's shoulder and could hear him sniffling. Sherlock always hated crying in front on John, and in general, but when Ella was kidnapped, he didn't care anymore. It was his way of letting the world know that deep down he had a heart and cared so deeply for his little girl.

"Wherever you are darling, know that your dad and papa love you very much", said Sherlock as he wiped his eyes.

"We'll never give up on you", added John. They stared at her picture in silence for several seconds.

"Right then, shall we go out for a walk once the candle's gone out? I need some fresh air", said John who couldn't bare to look at the picture any longer.

"Alright", replied Sherlock.

They decided to do more than just a walk. They took a cab all the way to the National Gallery to look at their favourite paintings. They always came here when they needed cheering up. Most days the gallery was busy but not overcrowded. As they walked up the steps to the gallery they noticed the massive amounts of school busses stopped all along the street.

"Great. Every bloody school in London is here today", said Sherlock. He wanted to turn back and leave but John convinced him to stay.

"We'll just go in for a few minutes and leave if it bothers you too much", said John.

They went inside and noticed at least six different large groups of children, all being loud and rowdy. Sherlock saw a group of schoolgirls looking at a painting of a naked man and laughing at it.

"Ugh, no appreciation for art", muttered Sherlock as he walked by the girls, trying to be loud enough so they could hear them. The girls just looked at him quickly and then back at the painting where they continued to laugh.

They made their way to the area of the gallery where one of their favourite Vincent Van Gogh pictures were. After about ten minutes, after another group of noisy children came in and started mocking the painting and calling it ugly. Sherlock had had enough.

"Can we please go now?" begged Sherlock.

"Alright, we'll go", said John as they got up.

As they were in the front lobby about to leave, a voice came from an elderly man. "Sherlock? Sherlock Holmes is that you?" It was the caretaker who had witnessed a case that Sherlock was working on that took place at the gallery about fifteen years ago. As Sherlock was chatting with the man, John was looking around at all the schoolchildren that had pretty much taken over the gallery. He was wondrously looking around the galley and looked up to the second floor where children were peaking their heads over the edge of the glass barriers. It was at that moment that he noticed a particular child. She was standing beside her friends, the tallest of the bunch with dark brown hair, looking over the edge. John quickly grabbed his phone and snapped as many photos as he could before she turned around. He didn't notice Sherlock behind him.

"You do know that photography is not allowed in here", whispered Sherlock. John said nothing and proceeded to look through the pictures on his phone.

"What are you doing", asked Sherlock. John still didn't respond. Finally he turned to Sherlock and showed him a clear, up close photo of the girl he was photographing. Sherlock looked at the picture and studied it for a few seconds and then looked back at John. "Who is that?" he asked.

"You don't know who that is? Or who it might be?" asked John surprisingly.

"No...", replied Sherlock who was now confused.

"Of course...", sighed John. He pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to Sherlock. His jaw dropped when he saw what was on the paper. It was a picture of Ella as a baby beside another picture of a little girl who somewhat resembled the one John took a photo of. Sherlock looked up slowly at John with a look of sheer anger.

"What the HELL is this?!", he asked angrily.

"It's an age progression photo-"

"I know what it is John! Why do you have this? Why didn't you ever tell me about it?"

"I had it done a couple of years ago. I was out for a walk when I saw a little girl that had similar features to Ella, so I snapped a picture of her. I took it to Lestrade who had an age progression photo done for me, but unfortunately, the little girl did not look like the age progressed Ella. I kept this in case it were to happen again. I didn't tell you about it because I knew that if I did you would have told me it was huge waste of time and-"

"Stop", instructed Sherlock. "You're telling me that you've been keeping in contact with Lestrade all these years without telling me? You've had this piece of paper with an age progressed photo of Ella and never bothered to show me. You think I would actually say that this was a waste of time?!" Sherlock was tearing up at this point.

John then began to cry as well. "I'm so, so sorry, Sherlock. I just-I want to find my daughter-our daughter so badly and I knew that you would try to stop me from doing this progression photo, or better yet critique the whole process like you always do. All these years I've never given up hope. There were times when I thought you did because you hardly ever spoke of her. Lestrade kept trying to contact you to make amends, but because you tend to ignore your problems rather than deal with them, he contacted me instead. He's been a big help, Sherlock. Please...please don't make this about you and me right now". John was sobbing at this point, and he could care less about the stares he was getting from people walking by. Sherlock wiped his tears away and pulled John close and hugged him. Just then the sound of noisy children that walked by them interrupted their moment. John looked up.

"Oh my God. She's gone!", he said.

Sherlock looked at the photo on the mobile phone again. She was wearing a navy blue school uniform with a yellow backpack. He searched the busy lobby carefully and then noticed a group of children with similar uniforms outside getting on a school bus.

"They're leaving!" yelled Sherlock. As fast as they could they ran toward the bus as it was slowly pulling away.

"Stop! Please stop!", they both yelled.

When they both realized it was too late, they noticed the little girl that John had photographed was sitting in the back of the bus staring at both of them. She had her face pressed up against the window. Eventually the bus turned a corner and she was gone.

"John, get me Lestrade!", said Sherlock.

**Chapter 5**

"Sherlock Holmes. I never thought I would see you again", said Lestrade.

"The same goes for you", replied Sherlock as he shook his hand.

"What can I do for you two?", asked Lestrade.

Sherlock and John explained to Lestrade about the photo they took of the young girl and that she closely resembled the age progressed photo of Ella. They worked for hours until they found out what school she was from. Quickly, they went to the school which was about an hour outside of London. The headmaster told them this girl was a student at her school, and when they asked what her name was, they nearly fainted at her response.

"Ella Peterson. Lovely girl. One of the brightest in her class", she said.

Sherlock and John gasped. John put his head in his hands and started crying.

"It's her, Sherlock...It's Ella...our little girl", uttered John slowly.

Sherlock started walking slowly in circles. "Peterson...Peterson...where have I heard that name?" he said, trying his hardest to put the pieces together. Just then it hit him. "Of course! Eleanor Peterson!"

John looked at Sherlock. "Eleanor Peterson! Sherlock, that's Ella's mother! That's the surrogate! That's Ella's biological mother!"

"What's going on?", asked the headmistress who had no idea of the issue at hand.

"What's her address?", asked Sherlock.

"I'm sorry but I can't disclose that information to you", the headmaster said.

"Please, I need this address! This is my daughter!", yelled Sherlock.

"Your daughter?", she asked.

"Yes!", exclaimed Sherlock.

"Funny, Eleanor never mentioned her having a father before".

"Eleanor never mentioned a lot of things, my dear, like the fact that she kidnapped Ella from us when she was six months old!"

"Kidnapped? How could she kidnap her own daughter?" She was confused at this point.

"Oh what's the point. All you're going to do is ask stupid irrelevant questions. John, phone Lestrade, get a warrant", demanded Sherlock.

After two days of waiting impatiently, Lestrade gave them the address in person. Sherlock and John were ready in seconds and headed out the door to catch a cab.

"You're going there now? You can't just go to her house, take her and leave", said Lestrade.

"So it's just Eleanor who has that privilege then?", said Sherlock sarcastically.

"Listen! I'm saying that you need to be calm about this. You two go on ahead and I, as well as Anderson, will follow behind".

"Oh God don't tell me you've still got him around?" said Sherlock.

"Yes. He was actually the one who did the age progression picture of Ella", replied Lestrade.

Sherlock was speechless. "Alright, we'll arrive at the house first and see what we can figure out. If trouble arises I will call you immediately. Don't follow too close behind", he instructed.

"We won't", promised Lestrade.

As Sherlock and John arrived at the address and were pulling up to the house, John began to get butterflies in his stomach. Sherlock was holding his hand.

"Funny isn't it?", asked John.

"What could possibly be funny about this?" asked Sherlock.

"This reminds me of the time when we went to the hospital to see the birth of Ella. I had butterflies and was so nervous. You were so calm and collective and held my hand. Now we're going to see her for this first time in ten years. Same feelings. Same nervousness".

"It's alright John", assured Sherlock.

"What if she doesn't remember us? What if she doesn't want us to be a part of her life? What if she hates us?", asked John worriedly.

"Relax. Everything will be alright".

Just then the cab came to a stop. Sherlock and John got out and walked up to the front door of a big white house and rang the bell. They were both holding hands at this point. A young woman answered the door. She looked like a nurse.

"Yes? Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes. We're looking for Eleanor Peterson. Does she live here?" asked Sherlock

The woman froze for a moment and then spoke. "I'm sorry, who are you both?"

"I'm Sherlock Holmes and this is my husband, Dr. John Watson-Holmes".

They were half expecting her to ask a million questions regarding their relationship, but instead she invited them in and told them to wait in the living room. They house was very well kept. Victorian furniture with candles burning all around. There was no indication that a child lived here. Just then the young woman returned. "Follow me", she said.

She lead them down a long hallway toward a door. When she opened it, Sherlock and John gasped. Laying in a hospital bed with tubes attached all over was none other than Eleanor Peterson, Ella's biological mother. Sherlock and John walked toward the bed. Eleanor slowly moved her head so she could get a better look at them.

"I was wondering when I would see you both again", she uttered quietly.

"Is that all you have to say to us?" asked John. "It was you. YOU, this whole bloody time!"

Eleanor nodded her head.

"Why?" asked Sherlock.

Eleanor coughed for a few seconds, then began to speak. "When you two had asked me to become a surrogate mother, I wanted nothing more than to help you. I always put others before myself, so I figured after helping you have a child, I would have one myself afterwards. About a month and a half later, I got very sick and required immediate surgery. It was then the doctors told me that I would no longer be able to have my own children. It devastated me to no end that the only child I was able to have did not belong to me legally. I went through depression. It was then that I met Danielle. She, too was unable to have children of her own. We got to know each other more, and eventually we fell in love. Because she was studying criminology and you were a detective -"

"Consulting detective", interrupted Sherlock.

"Sherlock..." said John.

Eleanor went on. "I asked Danielle to intern at the place you were associated with. I got her to beg to Lestrade to get you on a case she was witnessing in hopes that you would eventually bring the baby along with you, which you did-"

"Alright I've heard enough. Call Les-", said John shaking his head

"John! It's not like she's going to run anywhere is she? Continue Eleanor", said Sherlock.

"That's when Danielle took her as you both know. She took her to Scotland where I was living at the time. I wanted to be able to know what it was like to have a child. She was the best baby I had ever known".

John was getting angrier at this point and started tearing up.

"You see, I have Leukemia. I was diagnosed after my surgery. I wanted to be able to be with the only baby I ever had before I died. I was told that I had only a year left. I only wanted Ella for a short period of time and had even written in my will that when I was to die, she was to be brought back to you both right away. Miraculously, I was improving. Eventually the news about Ella's disappearance stopped. I wanted so badly to give her back, but she had a hold on me. Last year my Leukemia came back and got worse. Danielle couldn't handle it anymore so she left. I was told she was in a car accident and had died three months ago".

Sherlock and John both looked at one another then back at Eleanor.

"I raised Ella well on my own for a while. I told her everything she needed to know. I even-"

Eleanor was interrupted by a knock on the door. It was the young woman. She poked her head in and said, "Ms. Peterson, Ella's home from school and would like to see you", she said.

Both Sherlock and John's eyes widened and they looked at each other, but did not move.

"You may let her in", said Eleanor.

At that moment, a young, girl walked in. She was the same girl that John had seen in the art gallery. She was tall and had dark brown hair and blue-grey eyes. She was absolutely beautiful. Just as she walked into the room and noticed Sherlock and John looking at her, she stopped in her tracks, eyes wide. She stared at them for a few seconds then turned around and ran out of the room. Sherlock and John both looked back at Eleanor.

"What's that about?", John asked confused.

"Why did she run away like that?" asked Sherlock.

"Why don't you go and ask her yourself", said Eleanor.

"Oh stop it, Eleanor. We're tired of your nonsense, Now tell us why-"

"I said...go and ask her yourself", she replied sternly. "Sarah, could you take these men up to Ella's room please?"

"Of course. Follow me you two".

Sherlock and John looked at each other, still confused, but eventually followed Sarah. She took them up the stairs to the first door on the right and knocked. "Ella, you have visitors", she said.

They could hear sniffling coming from the other side of the door. "Come in", replied Ella.

"Go on in", said Sarah. Sherlock and John both took deep breaths, and opened the door. Ella was sitting on her bed holding a large scrapbook and was crying. Both men walked over to her and sat on either side of her on the bed, speechless. John was still teary eyed. They had no idea what to say to her. It was Sherlock who finally broke the silence.

"Ella...", was all he could say before he broke into tears. He was expecting her to ask why he, as well as John, were both crying. Sherlock eventually pulled himself together. "I'm sorry. You're probably wondering who we are and why we're here", he said wiping his eyes.

"I know who you are...daddy", she said through her tears looking at Sherlock, "and papa...", she said looking at John. Both men gasped and quckly turned and looked at Ella.

"What did you just say?" asked John.

Ella said nothing. She gave the scrapbook she was holding to Sherlock and got up so John could sit beside him. As they opened the book, they both put their hands on their mouths and cried. There were pictures, lots of pictures of Sherlock and John that were taken from newspaper articles. There were other pictures of them with Ella as a baby. The pictures looked like the ones you would see in celebrity magazines, ones that were taken without them noticing. There were pictures of them at the park, coming out of their flat, in restaurants, walking down the street. As they flipped through the pages, they didn't notice Ella standing in front of them and what she was holding. When they looked up at her, she was holding the little stuffed cat that she had the day Danielle had taken her. She handed it to John and he looked at it and laughed in shock.

"You knew who we were...all this time?" John asked her.

"Yes...I did. Mum told me all about you both since I was little. She told me the whole story about why she took me away from you as I got older. She gave me pictures so that I would know who my dads were when the time was right for me to see you again. When I saw you both running after the bus I was on at the art gallery the other day, I wanted so badly to get off the bus and run to you...but I just couldn't", she replied as she started crying again. "I'm so sorry I never called or tried to see you, daddy and papa. I'm so so sorry...".

John quickly pulled Ella in and gave her a long hug. Sherlock then wrapped his arms around the two of them and held them close for quite some time. They were all sobbing at this point.

"It's ok, darling. We're here now. We're never going to leave you again", said Sherlock.

"We always knew we would see you again, Ella. We've been waiting for this moment for a very long time", said John.

"I have too. I love you both so much", replied Ella through her crying.

At that point, Sarah walked into the room. "Mr. Holmes?"

"Yes?" they both answered as they weren't sure who she was referring to.

"Eleanor would like to see both of you. Bring Ella with you".

Sherlock and John got up and each held onto her hands as they walked downstairs into the room where Eleanor was. Eleanor was smiling with tears streaming down her face.

"You never got to let me finish what I was saying before Sarah knocked on the door earlier", she said. "I was going to say that I even told Ella all about you two. I told her who you were, what you did for a living. I showed her articles and links on the computer all about you. I told her soon enough she would see you both again. She knew who you were all this time".

Sherlock and John didn't know what to say at that point. Eventually Sherlock got out his phone and dialed Lestrade's number.

"If you're going to arrest me, an ambulance might be a better alternative to a police car", said Eleanor. Sherlock put up his hand and motioned for her to be quiet. "No need for backup, Lestrade", was all Sherlock said before he hung up.

"Well then, what are we going to do now?" asked John.

"I'll leave that up to Ella", replied Eleanor. "Sweetheart, you are more than welcome to go back to London with your fathers", she said.

"But...but you're sick mummy", Ella said as she walked over to her mother and held her hand.

"I know, darling, but there's so much more for you in London".

"But you'll be alone!", said Ella.

"Sarah will be here with me. You can come and visit me on the weekends, that is, if Sherlock and John would allow it". Eleanor and Ella both looked at the two men who nodded simultaneously.

"Are you sure, mummy?" asked Ella.

"I'm sure", replied Eleanor. At that point Ella turned, smiled, and ran toward Sherlock and John and hugged them both.

"Thank you, Eleanor", said Sherlock as he hugged his daughter.

Ella spent the next 20 minutes packing as much as she could into her large suitcase and backpack. She said her goodbyes to her mother and Sarah and got into Lestrade's car with her fathers.

"I have something for both of you", said Ella.

"What's that, darling?", asked John as he stroked her long brown hair. Ella took out of her backpack what appeared to be another scrapbook. In it contained pictures of Ella growing up that she and Eleanor had put together.

"Ive been waiting to give this to you since I could remember", she said.

Sherlock and John looked at the pictures and again, wiped the tears that were once again forming in their eyes.

"Thank you, sweetheart", said Sherlock as he planted a kiss on her head. Sherlock and John wrapped their arms tightly around Ella all the way back to London. They were finally a family again.

**Chapter 6**

One month later...

It wasn't long before Eleanor had succumb to her Leukemia. Ella was able to visit her twice before she died. On the day of her funeral, Ella wrote a lovely poem about her mother and put roses on her tombstone after she was buried. Sherlock and John were very proud of their daughter. She had grown into a smart, mature young lady. Several days after the funeral, Ella was getting ready for bed...in her room...the room she possessed when she was an infant. John walked in to say goodnight.

"You know, papa? There's something about the smell of this place that is familiar to me", said Ella.

John laughed. "That smell has been here ever since I've lived here, and that was a very long time ago", said John. "Ask your father about that. He's the reason behind it".

Ella laughed.

"You know, I used to dream about meeting you and daddy".

"Oh?" said John.

"I would have dreams that instead of mummy taking me to school, or to the park, or to a museum, it was you and daddy who were taking me instead", she said.

"Really?" asked John.

"Yeah. It's like you were both with me all this time", she said.

"We were, darling. Deep down we always were, and always will be with you". John went in to give Ella a bug hug and kiss.

"I hope you've saved enough of those for me", said Sherlock as he entered the room.

"Of course daddy!", said Ella as she got up and ran to her father. Sherlock picked her up and held her close. She turned, kissed him and hugged him as tightly as she could.

"You're a little heavier than when I last held you", he said.

"Daddy!" said Ella.

"Only joking, although it is true", he said with a cheeky smile.

"Oh stop it, Sherlock", said John. "Right then, time for bed, Ella".

Sherlock put Ella down and she got into bed. She got a big kiss and hug from both men. They said their goodnights and I love yous, and as Sherlock and John were walking out the door, Ella spoke up. "Daddy? Papa?", she said. Sherlock and John both turned around.

"Yes, love?" asked Sherlock.

"Thanks for never giving up on me", she said with a tearful smile.

**THE END**

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :)**


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